A Duke Will Never Do (The Spitfire Society #3) by Darcy Burke-a review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date May 19, 2020

The Spitfire Society… Meet the smart, independent women who’ve decided they don’t need Society’s rules, their families’ expectations, or, most importantly, a husband. But just because they don’t need a man doesn’t mean they might not want one.

After failing on the Marriage Mart, Jane Pemberton has two choices: submit to her parents’ edict to marry their boring neighbor or become a self-declared spinster and take up residence in the official headquarters of the Spitfire Society. It’s really no choice at all, and Jane is eager to embrace her newfound independence. She soon finds an unconscious viscount on her doorstep and nurses him back to health. When he offers to compensate her, she requests payment in the form of private instruction of a scandalous and intimate kind.

Having spiraled into a self-destructive abyss following the murder of his parents, Anthony, Viscount Colton, physically recovers under the care of an alluring spitfire. But it is her charm and flirtatiousness that soothes his soul and arouses his desire—until an extortion scheme forces him to face the sins of his past. Now, to save the woman who’s given him everything he lost and more, he’ll have to pay the ultimate price: his heart.

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REVIEW: Author Darcy Burke has blessed us with another lovely Spitfire Society story. A Duke Will Never Do, is the story of Jane Pemberton and Lord Anthony Colton. It is book three of the series.

If you have never picked up a “Spitfire Society Novel”, and have a love of historical romance, I urge you to do so. Each is written as a standalone, however, it makes sense to begin with novel one. This is a three-book series. If you search Spitfire Society in Amazon, you will easily get the reading order. These are stories of good friends whose lives intersect each other. You learn about each character in previous novels but get the in-depth focus of their lives and problems in their own story. It makes each novel like going home to a group of close friends.

I don’t do spoilers but let me give you the beginning gist of the story and what I like so much about it.

Anthony’s back story is that he was a reckless youth. He had many gambling debts that his father refused to pay off. So, he was led to a crime boss, the Vicar, by a supposed friend. That led to not being able to pay the Vicar. He was supposed to be going to their country property, but he didn’t go. His father and mother made the trip instead and were killed by a highway man. Then he learns that it was the Vicar’s man…he was to have been the target. His guilt eats away at him, he believes he’s responsible for his parent’s death. Drinking is his way of numbing the guilt, causing his reputation to suffer.

Jane’s parents are extremely disappointed in her failing to secure a marriage. They are pushing her beyond reason to marry a neighbor she finds boring and unacceptable. Her friend Phoebe has married a duke and has moved out of her house. When Jane let her know she is declaring her spinsterhood and needs to move out of her parent’s home, Phoebe lends Jane her house. She gives Jane a stipend to care for the staff and keep the house repaired, even a small stipend for Jane’s own income. A very generous gift for the times, but she knows Jane will take good care of her staff and home. However, Jane’s parents will no longer see her, nor will they let her come to her sister’s wedding. One morning, Jane finds a man on her doorstep, beaten and injured. It turns out to be Lord Anthony Colton. She has the butler take him to an upstairs room and decides to care for him there, discretely.

That’s pretty much the setup. How they care for each other, how they heal each other and hurt each other simultaneously is the very heart and soul of this intriguing story. What I love is the way they interact for the period. It’s very eye-opening about the brutality of the times and yet heartwarming in how love can overcome so much. I love the idea of spirited and independent women forming a group, even those who are not in Jane’s circumstances. The writing is professionally done, and the conversations and characters are remarkable. I’m a huge fan of Darcy Burke’s work and this is the last of the series. I personally cannot wait to see where she goes next.

Reading Order and Previous Reviews

Never Have I Ever
A Duke is Never Enough

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Georgianna S